Wednesday, 30 July 2008

We refer to Ms Kwok Shwu Ching's letter 'Why subject buses to ERP?' (my paper, July 18), which suggested that Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) be waived for public buses.

The writer said that ERP charges compel public-transport operators to pass on this cost to commuters in the form of fare revisions.

We would like to clarify that ERP and public-transport fare revisions are not linked.

The objective of ERP is to provide for smooth-flowing roads by managing traffic congestion. It is an equitable system that charges vehicles according to how much they add to congestion, based on the amount of road space they occupy.

Public buses are subject to ERP because, like all other road users, they occupy road space and contribute to traffic congestion.

Public-transport fares, on the other hand, are capped by a formula based on macro-economic factors, such as national inflation and wage increases, rather than operators' specific costs, such as ERP.Operators would have to manage their costs more efficiently, and cannot simply pass on their costs to commuters.